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RamFam
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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For those of you who live in Northern Virginia, where do you grocery shop? I recently moved from TX and we had HEB's which were great! I haven't found anywhere like them here. I have been using Giant, but they never have anything on the shelves, as they are always rearranging. I'm frustrated. I've never shopped at Trader Joe's or Harris Teeder. Are they a better option? Shopper's and Safeway seem a bit more expensive for mediocre stuff.
Thanks for the help.
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Leah
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Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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Mary Chris
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I personally like Wegman's and Bloom. I try not to shop at Giant, I dislike how bright it is in the stores and sometimes the smell bothers me. It also irks me that it is more expensive and they have more self check-outs then aisles with cashiers.
They are building two new Wegman's in the area, one in Woodbridge and one in Haymarket. In our old neighborhood, I would shop at Safeway, I don't have one nearby now.
Really Wegman's is my favorite store in the whole world. I love that I can feed everyone dinner, shop and if I could afford it I could buy some All-Clad, all at the same place.
Harris Teeter is okay. I don't shop at Trader Joe's all that often, I buy to many cookies there, and it is not in my usual driving pattern.
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teachingmom
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I shop at Costco, and either Giant or Bloom. I buy most of our food at Costco and fill in with items I cannot get there at one of the other stores.
I used to really like Giant, but have come to prefer Bloom in recent years. (My Bloom is the same as Mary Chris's.) Our neighborhood one is rather small, but well stocked and very clean. The staff is always helpful and friendly.
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RamFam
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I have never heard of Bloom or Wegman's, so I will definitely look into them. I've never had a membership at a wholesale place. How does Costco work? Is it considerably cheaper?
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Leah
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Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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JennGM
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Mary Chris wrote:
I personally like Wegman's and Bloom. I try not to shop at Giant, I dislike how bright it is in the stores and sometimes the smell bothers me. It also irks me that it is more expensive and they have more self check-outs then aisles with cashiers.
They are building two new Wegman's in the area, one in Woodbridge and one in Haymarket. In our old neighborhood, I would shop at Safeway, I don't have one nearby now.
Really Wegman's is my favorite store in the whole world. I love that I can feed everyone dinner, shop and if I could afford it I could buy some All-Clad, all at the same place.
Harris Teeter is okay. I don't shop at Trader Joe's all that often, I buy to many cookies there, and it is not in my usual driving pattern.
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Well, I have almost opposite stores as Mary Chris, but some of the same reasons. I don't shop at Shopper's because the lights' flicker rate and they give me a headache. The Bloom nearby smells, but I shop occasionally. Wegman's or Harris Teeter isn't close to me.
I usually shop at Giant around the corner. They aren't locally owned anymore (they were based in Landover, MD), so there are changes I don't like, and products keep being eliminated. Really, ask me what ever type of specialty product we need for our allergies and I'll see it taken away.  But they still carry far more of our weekly needs than other stores.
I also do Trader Joes every two-three weeks for certain items, and a few things at Costco. I don't have a large family, so I don't buy the food in bulk, just some paper products, some meats (like the ham), and a few other things.
Costco requires a yearly membership...which pays for itself when you buy new books at such discounts. 
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Jennifer G. Miller
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guitarnan
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 7:34pm | IP Logged
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I don't live in NOVA, but I can tell you about Costco. I'm in Maryland, but I've shopped at the Sterling Costco often. (We are military, so I do my other grocery shopping at our local commissary.)
One way to save big at Costco is to buy your gas there. You have to pay by debit card or AMEX (no cash), but you'll save several cents per gallon. That alone, over a year, can pay for the membership fee.
Tires are another big savings item at Costco.
I save a reasonable amount on the following items at Costco: cat litter, laundryd detergent, dishwasher detergent, Perrier, grana padano cheese (like parmigiano but cheaper), feta cheese, hummus, dried cranberries, big bags of bell peppers, synthetic motor oil. I buy large appliances there if they have what I want (I like simple things). Again, I am comparing to something most people can't use, a military commissary, but on certain items Costco can even beat that.
The trick is to go with a calculator and a list of prices from your local grocery stores. Because everything is in bulk, even though Costco is very good about giving unit prices, unless you prepare in advance you can't use that information very well. You really need to know what you'd pay elsewhere.
You also need storage space; you can get a very good price on whole chickens, for ex., but you have to buy two, so even if you freeze only one, you need the space for it. Batteries (a good value) come in packs of, like, 30. Ink jet printer cartridges are inexpensive, but you have to buy two.
We bought our carpet from Costco two years ago and I am still quite happy with it. It is good quality Stainmaster carpet and it has lived up to their promises.
You might see if you can tag along with a friend or neighbor and see if the items you buy regularly are offered at good prices. Don't forget to figure in your gas costs to get to/from - where I live, Costcos are few and far between. If you buy just one major item (tires, appliance, computer, TV) per year, you'll more than make up your membership fee.
The other thing is...Costco is Impulse Buyers' Heaven. Go with a list. Stick to it. End of lecture.
Let me know if you have more questions!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 7:44pm | IP Logged
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Nancy, good summary on Costco. I was blanking on what we get, but some toiletries, laundry detergent, some cleaners, gas, batteries...those are our usual things.
Does anyone else get rebates from Costco? I think we pay a business membership, but we get rebate checks that cover the membership fee over the year, too.
They sell good mattresses at different times of the year, and always have good selection and prices of children's pjs and men's socks (something we always seem to need).
I can elaborate on Trader Joes. It's been a lifesaver for us going through food allergies with my son (eggs, wheat, and dairy). I find their produce and fresh meat is a bit more expensive than other places, but there are some choices (including organic) that you can't find easily other places.
They have great hummus, salsa, guacamole... I buy bacon from there that is nitrate free. TJ's has several "flavors" of oat cereal that is actually only made of oats, no added wheat like Cheerios has, so it's been a blessing for us. They have olive oil, broths, all different types and very good prices. Canned goods are tasty, the jarred sauces are also good.
The highlight for us is the frozen food. They seem to have mastered the art of freezing very good food without adding all sorts of chemicals and sodium. It's just real food. The frozen veggies are very inexpensive and delicious, particularly the corn. It's like it's straight from the cob!
The frozen fish is good, and you can get Wild Salmon which is supposed to have less mercury than other kinds caught elsewhere. The frozen waffles are good, both multi-grain and the wheat, egg and dairy free ones. I also have used the frozen rice, both brown and jasmine, and it is good and easy.
The frozen prepared meals are varied and very tasty. We can't do most of them because of the allergies, but if you do appetizers or frozen meals in part, this is the place to get them.
The best is the dessert selection. There hasn't been a frozen dessert that isn't good. The chocolate ones are really, really good.
And we enjoy the wine selection -- great selection, terrific prices.
They have a great selection in chocolate. This was one of the few places I could find dark chocolate without dairy (oh, the semisweet chocolate pieces in the baking aisle are dairy free). I just love the Ritter dark chocolate.
But like I said, I don't shop exclusively there.
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KackyK
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I shop at Costco twice a month and then a couple of trips of fill-ins either at the Giant or the Shoppers. Our Bloom is really nice too, but I don't find as many choices there as at the others. Shoppers has miserable produce. And if you have a coupon and it's on sale at Giant, you can really hit a good deal.
Wegman's is coming very soon (the Haymarket one Mary Chris mentioned). I've been trying to count down the days!!!
I have to admit, I have tried Super Target sometimes. But I saw that when they opened, things were cheap...but they definitely then raised things, hooked ya and then hoped you wouldn't notice I guess 
Oh and Harris Teeter, it's not bad either...but I usually only do it when I'm on that route. I really try to make as few trips as possible all week to save on gas. So depending on my direction, that can really dictate where I'm going.
All that being said...tomorrow is the first of the month and we'll be at Costco in the morning!!! 
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SusanJ
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I get most of my food in unconventional ways in my neighborhood but when I go to grocery stores I go to NoVA and go mostly to Trader Joe's. The pleasant shopping experience there is worth a lot to me. It's nice and small so it feels more manageable with kids--if you forget an item it doesn't take half an hour to backtrack. They also give the kids balloons and it helps with the temptation to promise treats in exchange for good behavior. Jenn highlighted their food pretty well. In general I find that you get just a little more than you pay for at Trader Joe's, quality-wise, but I have to limit trips because it's a terrible place for impulse shopping.
I also like the Asian markets. I don't know where you are in NoVA. There is a Han Ah Reum at the intersection of Rt. 29 and Gallows Rd. in Falls Church. I haven't been there in ages but I used to live near there. I also go to the Grand Mart at Seven Corners when I have a lot of produce to buy. It isn't organic but I don't care so much with produce. The prices are amazing and they have EVERYTHING. I have never not found a produce item there. I seldom use any other aisle but they have good prices on soy sauce and olive oil and, depending on what you like, you might find other deals.
I have only limited experience with Harris Teeter but my impression is that it is just a nicer version of Giant (ie more expensive).
Giant makes me really stressed out, too. The lights are crazy in there and the speaker system drives me bonkers. I used to think I was just weird so I'm sort of glad to hear that others are bothered too!
Susan
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teachingmom
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| Posted: March 31 2008 at 11:31pm | IP Logged
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RamFam wrote:
| I have never heard of Bloom or Wegman's, so I will definitely look into them. I've never had a membership at a wholesale place. How does Costco work? Is it considerably cheaper? |
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We've had a few threads on the topic of Costco before:
here
here
and here (I listed my normal Costco shopping list there.)
JennGM wrote:
| Does anyone else get rebates from Costco? I think we pay a business membership, but we get rebate checks that cover the membership fee over the year, too. |
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Yes! we have the Costco American Express Card. There is no annual fee, and we get an annual rebate based on 3% back on eating out and gasoline purchases, 2% back on traveling, and 1% back on everything else. We also get another annual check based on different percentages for being an Executive Member. (At least I think that's why we get the other check!) Anyway, although our membership costs something like $100 per year, we get close to $500 back in rebates, so we still clear about $400.
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Lara Sauer
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I live in Springfield and I do almost all of our shopping at Shoppers, Trader Joes, the Springfield Butcher and CVS. We are a family of 7 children and for overall price, you can't beat Shoppers or Trader Joes. If Wegmans were a little bit closer, I would probably shop there more frequently. I try and make it out there once every 6 months or so for fun.
We used to have a membership at BJ's, but we started referring to it as the $100 club, since every trip there was costing us at least that much.
By using a combination of these stores, I am able to spend on average $600/month on groceries and household supplies. By going to Giant or Harris Teeter, I would have to add a minimum of 20-30% just for price mark ups.
Good luck and happy shopping.
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I live near Fair Oaks Hospital, and Wegmans and Whole Foods are my current choices. Occasionally I'll make the trek to Trader Joe's when I really feel like being frugal (it's a pain to get to and doesn't carry all of what I need, so with two under four I avoid it in favor of stores with more selection closer to my house).
Harris Teeter is a good store, and I used to shop there all the time when there was one in Fairfax, but it closed a couple of years ago and both Reston and Stone Ridge are just way too far to drive for groceries.
Bloom is just okay, IMO. Sometimes I go there if I just want to avoid crowds, as it seems like the one in Fair Lakes is always empty.
Oh, and occasionally I shop online at Safeway and get it delivered when I am really short on shopping time. Their delivery service is great, but I won't shop there in person because the service is terrible in the store. (I am referring only to the one at West Ox Road and Monument Drive, as I am unfamiliar with the others.)
Add me to the group that hates the lighting and smell at Giant (even the newly remodeled one in Franklin Farm is like that), plus I've found that they are sneaky with meat -- they'll put the nicest looking part of whatever it is under the clear wrap and then cover up anything sketchy (anything from lots of fat to an entirely different cheaper cut of meat in a value pack)with lots of big stickers. I've lost track of how many times I've been caught by that bait and switch, so I just try to stay away from Giant anymore.
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Maryan
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Mary Chris wrote:
| I try not to shop at Giant, I dislike how bright it is in the stores and sometimes the smell bothers me. |
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and to all you others who don't like how bright Giant is...
I have been wondering WHY all these stores are being remodeled with darker lighting. I had assumed that they didn't want us to read the price tags so we would buy the more expensive item. 
But now I know... some people like grocery stores dark?? For me -- I like to see the spots on the produce and to see the price tags as clear as I can see them in my electric yellow kitchen.
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Maryan
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 01 2008 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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Maryan wrote:
Mary Chris wrote:
| I try not to shop at Giant, I dislike how bright it is in the stores and sometimes the smell bothers me. |
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and to all you others who don't like how bright Giant is...
I have been wondering WHY all these stores are being remodeled with darker lighting. I had assumed that they didn't want us to read the price tags so we would buy the more expensive item.
But now I know... some people like grocery stores dark?? For me -- I like to see the spots on the produce and the price tags as clear as I can see them in my electric yellow kitchen. |
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No, not me. I don't like the dark stores. I think it hides faults in the produce. But I am sensitive to certain types of lighting. Incandescent lighting is friendlier to my eyes than flourescent or other kinds. I get headaches easily.
And MY Giant is remodeling a bit. They took down the lights from the shelves and now all i notice is that while it's darker where the food is, those darn overheads are giving me headaches! I do wonder if it's a conspiracy for me to stop shopping there.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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KackyK
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Giant is one store that when you leave in the summer, you don't get that "Whoa, blinded by the sun feeling" you get with other stores!
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KackyK
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Grocery Shopping in Northern VA
